An air purifier is a device which aims to free air from contaminants. The popularity of air purifiers spur from the results from environment researches which claim that the air inside homes are dirtier than the air outside of homes. Air purifiers are particularly beneficial for allergy sufferers and asthmatics or those who wish to reduce second-hand smoke. Allergy-inducing culprits are known as allegens. Allergens can come in the form of dust or pollen as well as pet dander and mold spores. Hazardous smoke particles and airborne gases may also find their way into homes and bedrooms. Because of the significant amount of time most people spend indoors, many wish to ensure air purity.
Various techniques are used in air purifiers in the current market to accomplish indoor air purification. These techniques include mechanical filters, absorbents such as charcoal, and electrostatic charges or ionizers. The most popular sort of filters for air purifiers is the HEPA filter. The Department of Energy has rigid requirements manufacturers must pass to meet HEPA requirements. Additional setups include germicidal UV light and the emission of ions into the air to react with contaminants and making them harmless enough to breathe. Although air purifiers strive to make the air as clean as possible, no commercial air purifier is capable of producing a room as clean as needed in situations requiring an especially clean environment, such as hospital surgical rooms or sensitive manufacturing like optics or computer processors.
In addition to the general contaminants that are in the air, owners of pets also live with the contaminants that come from the animals. Millions of households keep domesticated pets indoors. Allowing the animal to remain indoors reduces exposure to infectious diseases, territorial disputes with other neighborhood animals, and exposure to the harsher elements of weather, such as rain, snow, the cold of winter and the heat of summer. Although many pet owners keep their pets indoors, a shortcoming of current pet enclosures is that they absorb and emit pet odors that can foul the smell of the entire house or apartment surroundings. For example, the inclusion of many materials such as wood and/or other natural materials, and/or natural or synthetic fabric into an enclosure can trap urine and other sources of unpleasant odors associated with animals. Attempts to reduce the absorption of odors have generally focused on fabricating the structure entirely of metal or other non-porous materials. These odors contribute to the contamination that is generally in the air as previously described.
One attempt to reduce pet odor is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,997,138. This patent describes a pet enclosure having a moisture and odor-resistant, plastic, rattan-like material woven onto a frame. Although this odor-resistant plastic does reduce some of the odor coming from the animals, a substantial amount of pet odor remains in the air.
There remains a need for an improved and flexible air ventilation system that can be adapted to remove contaminants and animal odors from the air.